What is Training?

Training is a process of learning that involves the
acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts, rules, or changing of
attitudes and behaviours to enhance the performance of individuals.

Today, it is believed that an organisations competitive
success is achieved through people (Pfeffer, 1994). Therefore, it is safe to
say, that the skills and performance of the staff is critical. For example,
from 1997 to 2007, American organisations with over 100 employees, spent $58.6
billion a year rising steadily to over $200 billion (Holton et al).

There is a strong consensus which states that the
acquisition of knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes through training is
of little value if the new characteristics are not generalised to the job
setting and is not maintained over time (Kozlowski et al, 1997). In other words, if training cannot be translated into
performance, the entire process will be useless. According
to Swanson (1995) transfer of training is a core issue regarding to linking
individual change to the requirements of the organisation. In order to believe
that training makes a difference in organisational and individual performance,
it must be understood how to support the transfer of training.

Traditional approaches to the transfer of training tend to
consider it as a horizontal link between training and performance. Baldwin (**)
classified each of the affecting factors into 3 categories;

1)
Trainee Characteristics and Environments,

2)
Learning and Retention,

3)
Generalization and conditions of transfer.

All 3 sets of training are linked in the sense that it is a
top down process. As Holten found, learning is to the organisation unless it is
transferred in some way to performance. Kuchinke
(1995) also argued that learning is a means, not a primary organisational
outcome.

So the question is, “what is the best way for an individual
to learn by training?”.

Goldstein’s (1986) idea of the principle theory suggests
that training should focus on the general principals necessary to learn a task
so the individual can apply theory to solve the problems in the transfer
environment. This suggests that it is in fact possible to design a training
environment without excessive concern about the similarity of the transfer
situation, just as long as it is possible to utilize the underlying principals
of the task.

A study by Roher & Pashler (2007) conducted a study into
the area of reinforcement and retention. It was believed that if an individual
continuously uses a machine or rehearses exam information, the more secured the
information will be. However, the results showed that ‘overlearning’ can have
highly diminishing affects over time. An example of this would be Cog Erg CA1
brain training. At times, users became so accustomed to the training tasks that
silly mistakes were made.

The idea that “practice makes perfect” is correct, but it
must be understood that there is a time to stop! Football players would train
once or twice a week in order to remain at peak performance. If they trained every
day, by the time they play a match they would be exhausted. It is the same idea
when it comes to occupational training.

One of the ways to increase ability and performance is to
factor for cognitive load. Imagine your brain as a wheelbarrow, each time a
brick (new piece of information) is added to the wheelbarrow, the harder it is
to lift it. If you set a target goal, “I will study the mechanism of the
machine, then test it and repeat twice and then stop”, it will allow the
individual to pace the workload and reduce the cognitive load.

Jung once said “mistakes are, after all, the foundations of
truth, if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in
knowledge to know what it is not”. The idea of completing a task and receiving
instant feedback on whether the task is right or wrong is a fantastic way to
increase efficiency. A good way of doing this is through guided training or
shadowing. Both of these methods allow an individual to learn by the instructor’s
example and how specific situations are normally dealt with. It gives the
individual some experience and can help reduce tension when the individual
starts working by themselves.